Meaning of DIALECT
Pronunciation: | | 'dIu`lekt
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WordNet Dictionary |
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| Definition: | | [n] the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people; "the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English"; "he has a strong German accent" |
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| Synonyms: | | accent, idiom |
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| See Also: | | non-standard speech, patois | |
Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| Definition: | | \Di"a*lect\, n. [F. dialecte, L. dialectus, fr. Gr. ?,
fr. ? to converse, discourse. See {Dialogue}.]
1. Means or mode of expressing thoughts; language; tongue;
form of speech.
This book is writ in such a dialect As may the minds
of listless men affect. Bunyan. The universal
dialect of the world. --South.
2. The form of speech of a limited region or people, as
distinguished from ether forms nearly related to it; a
variety or subdivision of a language; speech characterized
by local peculiarities or specific circumstances; as, the
Ionic and Attic were dialects of Greece; the Yorkshire
dialect; the dialect of the learned.
In the midst of this Babel of dialects there
suddenly appeared a standard English language.
--Earle.
[Charles V.] could address his subjects from every
quarter in their native dialect. --Prescott.
Syn: Language; idiom; tongue; speech; phraseology. See
{Language}, and {Idiom}.
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Thesaurus Terms |
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| Related Terms: | | Acadian, accent, Anglo-Indian, argot, brogue, Brooklynese, bundle of isoglosses, burr, Cajun, Canadian French, cant, choice of words, class dialect, Cockney, composition, dialect atlas, dialect dictionary, dialectal, diction, expression, formulation, French Canadian, grammar, Gullah, idiom, idiomatic, isogloss, jargon, language, langue, lingo, lingua, linguistic atlas, linguistic community, linguistic island, local, local dialect, localism, locution, Midland, Midland dialect, New England dialect, parlance, parole, patois, patter, Pennsylvania Dutch, personal usage, phrase, phraseology, phrasing, pidgin, pronunciation, provincial, provincialism, regional, regional accent, regionalism, rhetoric, slang, speech, speech community, subdialect, talk, tongue, usage, use of words, usus loquendi, verbiage, vernacular, wordage, wording, Yankee, Yorkshire |
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